heroism

After a driver became unresponsive, Courtney Garcia, an eighth-grade student in Texas, was able to use the two-way radio with no training and reach district transportation officials, who sent help. Garcia was given a certificate of recognition for her quick actions.

Shayne Pierre, 15, received an award from the Montana Highway Patrol for assisting the injured drunken driver of the other vehicle, then returning to the bus to get the students to exit because he had noticed gasoline leaking from the vehicles.

U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) brought Susan and Richard Lunski, the first people at the scene of the bus-train crash near Larimore, North Dakota, as her guests to the State of the Union address. The Lunskis helped rescue students as they waited for first responders.

Charles “Chuck” Poland Jr. was a school bus driver. Not just any school bus driver, but the one who put his life on the line to protect his passengers when a deranged and armed man commandeered his bus last year. A little more than a year after he was slain on the job, we should all continue to honor his memory, his dedication to the children entrusted to him, and his exceptional heroism.

When a school bus collided with a tractor-trailer in Nebraska in 2012, motorist Philip Petr stopped and provided critical help. With a fire spreading in the wreckage, Petr climbed into the bus and helped students escape.

Bus driver Michael Hacker speeds through a stop sign and makes a late turn, throwing him to the floor and causing the bus to veer into a ditch. Lee Morris, a sign-language interpreter, grabs the wheel and regains control of the bus, while fourth-grade teacher Amy Ryan is able to reach the brake pedal by climbing around Hacker.

Denise Dolcoe, a school bus driver for Fort Bend (Texas) Independent School District, was on her afternoon route when she noticed a pit bull attacking a girl. Officials say that the driver immediately stopped her bus, grabbed a bucket and ran to the girl’s defense.

Gov. Sam Brownback proclaimed last Wednesday School Bus Drivers' Appreciation Day in the state. Rannie and Diana Schmidt were among those in the spotlight. The driving duo came across an accident last year and provided critical aid to a mother and daughter.

Ricardo Ramos, a Student Transportation of America driver and trainer in Riverside, Calif., acts quickly when a sudden deluge sweeps away two children crossing the street. He jumps into the surge and pulls both kids to safety.